The early morning before sunrise is magical. When I was a teenager, my dad would tap on our bedroom doors to awaken my sister and me early every morning. We were going running. We would roll out of bed in the dark, pull on shirts and pants, tie our shoes and meet him downstairs. To …

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My friend, Andrea, suggested I join Goodreads. I knew something about the book site but not much. Given that it's all about books, though, I took her advice and checked it out. Now I'm a huge fan. Goodreads was intimidating at first—the way just about any social media platform can be—to me at least, as …

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I'll soon be off to my favorite place on earth — Southwest Virginia — to speak to a book club. Today, I'm especially grateful to writer Brooke J. Wood and The Southwest Times for running a great story about my book and the event. With Brooke's permission, I'm reprinting it here: Writer pens novel about historic …

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A little departure today: Following is a piece I wrote three years ago. At the time, it was cathartic. I publish it today, Sept. 8, on the third anniversary of the death of a friend who taught me more than I could have ever expected. A month ago, my friend died. And I am diminished because …

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A few years ago, I was eating dinner in Charlottesville, Virginia. We were celebrating a birthday at a very hoity-toity restaurant, the kind where you have to pretend you know French and where you'd better have extra cash stashed in your pocket. You know the kind. As I was ordering, out of the corner of …

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A bit ago I wrote about the unpleasantness of an open office work setting. Today, I'm going in the opposite direction: the delight of an office set up just the way I want. Working at home as I do is utter bliss — even when I'm tackling a sticky story or wrestling with an uncooperative …

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Like most of the rest of the country, I'm getting ready to watch what's been dubbed The Great American Solar Eclipse. My deck — and my schedule — are clear for the afternoon. I was going to employ a colander to watch the event, but alas, mine has square not round holes and whoever heard …

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I don't often rant. Well truth be told, I do in private, but publicly, I generally hold my strongest opinions to myself. But today I'm breaking that personal rule. I've spent the last three years and six months working in a modern concrete and glass open office space. From the moment we moved in, it …

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"Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." This line, perhaps one of Broadway's most memorable and enigmatic lines, spoken by Blanche Dubois at the end of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire has special meaning for authors. I was thinking of that this morning when I noticed another rating on Goodreads for …

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Stephen King has a routine, as do many writers. For Mr. King, mornings are for writing. Afternoons are for walking and reading. This is a plan I am adopting in this, my new life as a full-time novelist. As a morning person, I'm embracing Mr. King's routine. Summers are especially productive. As early as 5:30 …

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WANT TO READ CAIRNAERIE?

In a sweeping historical fiction, Cairnaerie unfolds across the landscape of Civil War Virginia and the 1920s eugenics movement that follows.

In a world where gentility is the lifeblood of society and some rules are never to be broken, Geneva Snow dares to love a forbidden man. Her decision shatters her steadfast father, who hides her away in his mountain estate, Cairnaerie, as if she has died.

After years of solitude, she emerges, hoping to repair the family she betrayed and to leave a legacy worthy of the father she loved and lost. She engages an unwitting, young history professor for help, but when the forces of malevolence and revenge converge, the family’s long-kept secret is exposed. And for a second time, Geneva faces a calamity of her own making.